As a senator from Michigan, Abraham on three occasions proposed eliminating the department he is now slated to head, saying it had “no core mission.” Energy was not the only department on his hit list; he also suggested the Commerce Department be eliminated. He served one term as a senator, and was defeated in the November elections. Abraham served as co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1990 to 1992 and briefly as the deputy chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle.